I am home

I ran out of money and had to come home. I tried to do things smart, coming home and staying when possible to save money, staying where breakfast was included so I had one less meal to buy and bringing some of my own food to eat along the trail. I did of course also eat in some better restaurants too. A lot of times that was because I got a really good rate on a room and had extra to spend on a nice meal. There were also times when I had very few choices on hotels or restaurants because of what was available in that area.  I had some money that was promised to me not come through. (ok enough wining)


If you would have asked me after the first week or even month of walking how I would feel about being able to finish the Erie Canal trail but not go on, I never would have expected to feel disappointed. I probably would have said relieved, maybe even glad to be home. The start of my trip was so very difficult. Now though, I am feeling disappointed that I was not able to go further. I was just getting to a point where I was enjoying what I was doing. I had a few episodes of foot problems (most of that probably because I did not walk while Noelle was in the hospital and then tried to get right into walking 20 miles again, not real smart). Another change in my attitude from the beginning is that even though I am disappointed to not be able to go on with my walk, I am not disappointed in my efforts. I did step out obediently in faith. I did finish the Erie Canal trail, how many people can say that. Am I questioning whether I heard God correctly, yes sometimes, but I do believe that all He was asking of me was to step out in faith. If more money comes in in the next week or so, I will go back out again, but I need it to be enough money for me to go for more than a day or two. If I don't walk, any extra money that came in I will divide between the two charities.


As for the two charities...I will keep this blog up for a while so you will be able to continue to link to the charities from here and I will update it if anything new happens with me. As I have time to reflect on my walk and God has a chance to deposit all He has for me I will also update with my insights. If you were going to donate based on how many miles I walked, 500 miles would be my best estimate. The Erie Canal trail was 400 miles, I did about 50 miles in Massachusetts and about 45 more miles in the southtowns.

My last days of walking

After Dunkirk, I walked to Westfield, where I finally had to admit to myself I just didn't have enough money to go on. I stayed at the Theater Hotel in Westfield. It used to be a drive in movie theater that burned down. It was a really cute motel, styled like the older motels with harvest gold toilet and tub, yellow and pink tiling. It was really charming and the people there were very nice.


While walking to Westfield I stopped the Erie State Park and had an impromptu picnic by the beach of beef jerky and a kind bar. It was nice to take a little time and rest by the beach for a while. The weather was perfect. On the way I stopped at the Sugar Hill Golf course at the Caddyshack restaurant for dinner. It was the only restaurant I had seen since Dunkirk. It was totally worth the stop. It was decorated so adorable, kind of country charm. I had haddock stuffed with crab and shrimp which was delicious, buttery, melt in your mouth. My waitress was very sweet.


I had a friend pick me up the next day to take me home. We decided to take the drive to Presque Isle in PA. I was a little bummed to find out that I was only 10 miles from the PA boarder when I stopped. I think I will take a day and do that last 10 miles soon even if I don't ever end up going any further in my walk. Anyone up for driving me to Westfield and picking me up at the PA boarder 4-5 hours later some day soon? Presque Isle park is amazing. They have so much beach area. We spent the day walking in the sand and water and just enjoying the sun and a perfect beach day.

enjoying Dunkirk

I woke up to thunder and rain this morning so I decided to stay one more day in Dunkirk. It was a day that I really needed. Even though I stayed in one town, I walked at least 10 miles. The nearest restaurant was 1.8 miles away and I walked there and back two times. I went to Demetrys. Really good home style food and great service. I ate there three times in the last two days!

I walked the boardwalk and checked out the little shops. I went to the Dunkirk lighthouse and checked that out and walked around this little park and down to the beach. I walked barefoot in the sand and stuck my toes in the surf. Anyone who knows me knows that water and sand are amazing therapy for me. My spirit felt at peace. It was something I really need since I have to face the fact that my money has run out and I will have to come home by this weekend. I was hoping the article in the UB Reporter would help with some donations and I had some funding that was promised fall through. I have always said that God would let me know it was time to come home when the money ran out. I know there is still time for God to do something miraculous. If not, then maybe I have accomplished all He wanted me to on this trip. I am trusting Him either way, but I had hoped to do more.

having a hard time lots of foot pain

I walked to Angola, well about 5 miles out and then my mother-in-law picked me up and I stayed with her in Angola. Then the next day I walked to Irving (I had hoped to make it to Dunkirk) and my mother-in-law once again was nice enough to pick me up and let me stay with her. We stopped at Aunt Millie's on route 5 in Irving for dinner. I had what they call Thanksgiving in a bowl. It was turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and corn all mixed together. It was really good. This is one of my favorite restaurants. I try to go there anytime I am in the area. I have never had anything that wasn't wonderful there, and their desserts are absolutely unbelievable. Today Noelle had a follow up appointment with her Endocrinologist from after her hospital stay.  Everything went well at the doctors visit!


I am hoping to make it to Dunkirk or farther tomorrow. I am having real problems with my feet. the top of my right foot is really hurting and I am having problems going further than 10 miles right now. It is weird, it's the top of my foot, where it bends. It makes it really hard to flex my foot. Hopefully having a day of rest today will help. It is about 12 miles from Irving to Dunkirk, so I think I can do it. I am looking forward to this, Dunkirk's waterfront is beautiful.

Link to article in UB reporter

http://www.buffalo.edu/ubreporter/spotlight.host.html/content/shared/university/news/ub-reporter-articles/stories/2014/June/bordas_walk.detail.html?utm_source=UB+Reporter%2C+University+at+Buffalo+List&utm_campaign=db13eb27c0-UB_Reporter_06_12_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_4767d5c470-db13eb27c0-63073885

Walking again!!

I finished the Erie Canal Trail!! Tuesday I walked from Medina to Lockport. It was a really nice walk. It felt good to be on the road again. I am so glad that Noelle is doing so well and that I am able to be going again. I stopped at the Tow Path Café and I had a side of corned beef hash, it was really good, but the best part was the women working there. I had a chance to talk to them about what I was doing and they donated to my walk. They were wonderful women and I really enjoyed talking to them. I will have to stop by another time and try more of the menu. I had really just stopped in mostly for a cold drink and to use a bathroom. The women there also offered to fill my water bottles and give me ice for my water. You all need to stop there and check it out and support these wonderful women. Then I finished my walk for the day at Lake Effect ice cream. If you want to try some unusual ice cream flavors that is where you need to go. So I ended up having ice cream for dinner. I had peach bellini and also sampled honey blue cheese. The peach was perfect after a hot walk. So refreshing.

The next day I walked from Lockport to North Tonawanda and stopped at the fire hall there. It was a hot and muggy day. I ended up with blisters on the bottom of my toes. It ended up being a really tough walk for me. I had hoped to make it to Tonawanda, but just had to stop about 3 miles from my goal. A friend from work, Mari Felschow picked me up and took me out to dinner. We went to Roadhouse grill and we both had Mauhi-mauhi with a strawberry/lime butter. The food was so good, especially since I was so hungry. I did not find any place to stop for lunch along the way.

Yesterday I walked from Niawanda park in Tonawanda. It was a day of ups and downs. It was really nice to be walking there since that is where I did a lot of my training. I know the path so well. Know where the bath houses are, where there are benches, I know it all so well it felt like a long lost friend. After a while though it started pouring rain. I put on my rain poncho but still got wet. I was lucky though, there was a park right there with picnic shelters and a bath house. I waited it out for a while there, went into the bathhouse and dried off with paper towels and sat under the shelter for a while. I started to walk again and discovered a restaurant about 500 feet away. I went to the River Grill on Niagara just past Sheridan drive. I had seafood chowder that was just overflowing with shrimp and scallops and I also had a crab poboy. It was soooo good. I sat for a while since it was raining on and off. After that I finally decided to go and figured it was going to be a day that I just didn't get anywhere really fast, so I just enjoyed the walk. There were rose plants (rose of Sharon maybe?) all along the path. I stopped every few feet to smell the blossoms the perfume was so wonderful. I also spent some time following a heron or crane trying to get a better look at him. I enjoyed watching the strength and beauty with which he took off and flew.

I am getting ready to walk again

I am planning to start back walking on Tuesday. I will be starting in Medina where I left off and finish the Erie Canal trail then go to the Seaway trail and then in Ohio catch the American Discovery trail. I am really excited to get going again! There is so much out there yet for me to see and discover. There is so much more of God, myself and my relationship to Him to see and discover.

Exciting news: I was interviewed for University at Buffalo's paper the Reporter. I will get the article some time this week to proof and then it will go out shortly after that. I will let you know when I have the dates and hopefully will be able to link you to the article here on the blog, so stay tuned!

I am taking today and tomorrow to get ready. Doing some laundry, loading more music on my IPod, working on making a banner and I am thinking of having a few t-shirts made if I can get them done fast enough. Then I need to organize my stuff and get it all loaded on the stroller.

Ok, now to the part I like least...I hate asking for money, but it is a necessity. I really need donations, both for my expenses and to the charities. With what I have right now, I will be lucky to make it past Ohio. If you feel led, please do donate so I can continue my walk and so that I can let others know about the work Northtown Pregnancy Center and Olmsted Center for Sight are doing.

Also to save a little money along the way, I would love it if I could get rides to where I am walking and back home while I am this close. I have a ride to Medina Tuesday morning. I could use a ride home from Lockport Tuesday night, probably about 8pm or earlier, if it needs to be earlier, I will just stop where ever I am at that time. Then I would like a ride Wednesday morning to where ever I stopped in Lockport the day before and then someone to pick me up Wednesday night in Tonawanda, probably near Isleview maybe 6pm ish. Thursdsay I should be fine. I have a ride back to Isleview and then will head toward the southtowns. I still need to figure out the timing in the southtowns a little better to see where I will be when and maybe will be looking to get back and forth from West Seneca or Hamburg, but that still remains to be seen.

Once again, thank you all for your prayers and support. You all are what is making this happen. I could get nowhere without all of your help. I pray you all receive rich blessings for all you have done for me.

Updates - been a crazy few weeks

It has been a while since I have updated anyone, at least here on my blog. I walked the Erie Canal trail as far as Medina so far, and then there were 3 or so really stormy days coming up so I had my sister pick me up to wait the storm out at home instead of paying for hotels/motels. My plan was to then go back and walk from Medina to Lockport one day and Lockport to Tonawanda the next and thus finish the Erie canal trail. Then I would take about a week off and then go ahead and walk the Seaway trail to the American Discovery trail.

Well, the day before I was planning on finishing the Erie canal trail my daughter got really sick. I believe God had me home at this time for a reason. I had taken her to her grandmother's Tuesday afternoon and on Wednesday morning her grandmother called and told me I needed to come out there. When I got there Noelle had a temperature of 104 and was not responding to us. We could not even get her up and get her dressed. We called the ambulance and had her taken to the ER. When she got to the ER her temperature was 105, HR was 131 and BP was 67/35 all very scary. She ended up having some kind of bacterial infection, a spinal tap showed that there was bacteria in the spinal fluid. They gave her a broad range of antibiotics and antivirals and she is now home and doing so much better. She had gotten better as fast as she had gotten sick. We were in with her in ICU until about 3pm. She was still very confused and having a hard time following the Neurologists request as far as squeezing his hand, lifting her leg up etc. At about 6pm, I got a call and my caller ID showed that it was the hospital. I answered the phone and heard "mom" and then as clear as can be and as coherant as could be she started asking me to bring some things when I come back to visit. I sat there on the phone for about 5 minutes trying to get my brain wrapped around the fact that it was her. Just 3 hours ago she was totally confused and not very responsive. I actually remember thinking, is this really Noelle, is this some prank or something?

So, I have not been getting any walking in. I shouldn't say that, I have at least been walking from the back end of Millard suburban parking lot and up to Noelle's room. LOL I have prayed about whether I am to continue walking and I really feel that at this time I am being told to keep walking. I am not positive when I will start again. It will be at least a week. I need to make sure Noelle is fine and settled, but I plan to keep going until I feel I am supposed to stop. That might be soon since most of the money I had saved upnd my vacation that I was paid out is just about gone. So I am asking that if you are feeling lead to donate to my expenses, please do. I am really going to need the help. Also, please donate to the worthy charities I am trying to support, that is why I am doing this. You can donate to either me or the charities by clicking on the tabs above, or I am also on Crowdrise. Just search by Our footsteps count. If you can also help me to spread this over social media by sharing the link on your FB and such. Also, please keep me in prayer. That is the most important thing. If I am covered in prayer, I have nothing to fear.

Now that things have calmed down a bit, I will try to update you all much more. Sorry for the long silence.

The last few days have been rainy and just yucky so since I'm so close to home I had my sister bring me home to sit out the weather rather than pay for s room. I stopped in at work to visit. That was really nice. I really miss the people there. I spent most of the last two days hanging with my daughter. Hangind with her is one of the things I miss most about walking. Tomorrow I go back to Medina and finish the Erie canal trail probably by Tuesday. I'll spend a few days at home after that and then I will be off for the next leg of my walk.

Musings from this part of my trip

This journey has been so many things. It probably most of all has been a great big challenge, more than I ever imagined. I have seen and experienced so many wonderful things and suffered heart break and self doubt. I have found out just how much I can push myself. I have been to the point of total exhaustion and checked MapQuest to see how much farther I had to go to see that I had 7, 8 or 10 more miles to go. Thinking I was just going to sit down on the road and that was it. There was no way I could go further and also dealing with the knowledge that evening was coming and I only had so much time before it would be dark. I learned to just keep walking, even when I felt like I was sleep walking, like there was no way to make that next step. The reality is, every footstep did count. Each and every footstep I took would bring me closer and closer to my destination, closer to my goal.

I have tasted so many great foods, as evident in this blog. One of my most favorite things to do is to find a little family restaurant or diner and be amazed by the great flavors that they create. It has been a really enjoyable part of my journey. I love finding new foods, new flavors, new spices.

I have seen spring come into bloom right before my eyes. I started out and everything was asleep. All I saw was browns and greys. It seemed like overnight everything just started to get greener and greener, and the dogwood and other flowering trees are opening their fragrant blooms and carpeting the ground with there beautiful colors. I have seen robins, cardinals, blue jays, red winged black birds, cranes, hawks and I think I saw an eagle I can't be positive but I am pretty sure. I have seen ducks and of course the dreaded goose! I've had butterflies flutter around me along with seeing flies, bees and eeeww spiders.

I have walked across countless bridges!! Bridges of every kind. From my first one that was rather large and intimidating crossing the Hudson river to draw bridges and lift bridges as I cross and re-cross the canal. Every time I see a draw bridge I thing of the song about the Erie canal...low bridge everybody down, low bridge cuz were coming to a town, where you'll always know your neighbor you'll always know your pale if you ever/never traveled the Erie canal...It is true, I know when I see the draw bridges that I am coming to another adorable canal town and I am excited to see what the next town has to offer. I even crossed a lock. That was absolutely horrible. It was just a thin section about the width of a sidewalk. There was open metal grates to walk on so you could see right down and just a railing. I made it across, but whined the whole way.

I am so close to home now. I look at my map and just can't believe how far I came. Just a few more days and I'll be home. At least I hope so, the weather does not look like it is going to cooperate. It is supposed to rain until Friday. Oh well, they said it was going to rain today, and instead I fried. The sun beat on me constantly, someone told me it had gotten up to 85 today. So much for the rain! So I am trying to judge when to walk this week, hopefully I can rely on the weather people and figure out my best plan and get home and see everyone soon and recharge a little before starting this all over again for another 3000 miles or so.

wonderful times

I have had horrible Wi-Fi or none at all so time to catch up again.

A few days ago, I headed for Brockport. The section of my trip from Rochester on has been my favorite. There are these adorable canal towns every 5 miles or so. On my way to Brockport I stopped in Spenserport at the Galley Restaurant right on the canal. I sat out on the covered patio, enjoyed the view and really, really enjoyed the food. I had shrimp and corn bisque. It had a little bit of dill and was so creamy, like silk on your tongue, and had this great buttery flavor. I also had crab stuffed mushrooms and onion rings. The mushrooms were great. Stuffed with crab and melted cheese with just a touch of spiciness to it. The onion rings were thick cut and fried golden and crispy. All in all it was a really amazing meal.they had a really varied menu. I'd like to go back and try more.

I got to Brockport and spent Saturday and Sunday night there. I went to Christ Community church. It was a wonderful, Spirit filled church and I met some great people there.

I can't believe I am so close to finishing this part of my journey! Please keep me in prayer. I have funding make it for about one more month and I still could really use someone to drive along side of me.I kind of need that person to be a PR person. To go ahead of me and let people know I am coming and try to arrange food and lodging for me. I also have to really scramble to figure out the next part of my route. I ordered the guides for the American discovery trail, but they didn't come until after I left, so I haven't even looked at them yet.

Sorry for typos. I don't have Wi-Fi again and am doing this on my phone.

Day off in Rochester

I stayed an extra night in Rochester. I originally thought I would walk 6 days and rest one, but it does seem like after 3 days of walking that I need a day of rest. I am learning as I am doing this. The thing is that I don't really rest on my day off. I want to explore when I have the time. Today I walked to the Memorial Art Gallery and then of course, walked all around the gallery. It was pretty awesome. They had a special showing of Matisse's print work. On the way there I stopped at and Ethiopian restaurant on State street. The food there was amazing. It was all vegan, mostly lentils in sauce and cooked veggies. The spices were so amazing tasting. I ate at a regular table, but they had these woven tables with bowl shaped tops and small cloth covered stools that reminded me of a drum for sitting. They would place the big platter of food in the bowl shaped top of the table and then everyone would eat from the tray using the bread to pick up the food and eat. I did get a cab to come and pick me up from the gallery and take me back to my hotel. The neighborhood I walked through to get to the gallery was kind of like walking through the east side of Buffalo, so I figured a cab would be a better answer. All in all it was a pretty great day off. The weather was great and I had wonderful food and saw some interesting art work. Now I am going to soak in the tub and get ready to take off tomorrow.

In Rochester, almost home!

Wow, I can hardly believe that I am just about done walking the Erie Canal Trail. It has been all kinds of things. Up and down, horrible and great. I have seen a lot of amazing sights. Hopefully I will get my pictures on here soon. It may not be until I get home and can use a better WI-FI connection. I will try later today though as the WI-FI seems good and I am taking today off so should have some time to play around with it.

Last night I stopped in Fairport at the Budget Inn. There was a guy, Frank, checking in ahead of me and he asked me to join him for dinner. We went to the Golden Phoenix on Route 31 in Fairport. It was really good. The menu was huge (and heavy). I had Vietnamese Shrimp with lemon grass. It was a little spicy with and then with the cool of the lemon grass was just a perfect flavor combination. It was loaded with at large shrimp and served over shredded lettuce with tomato and cucumber slices. It was great to have the company for dinner. We had some really great and in-depth conversations about science, God, Jesus, history. There was a lot we didn't agree on, but we both listened to each others opinions and respectfully debated back and forth. I really enjoyed the conversation.

From Fairport I traveled to Rochester. I actually ended up on the far end of Rochester (closer to Buffalo) in Gates. I was on the Canal Trail the whole time. Except for a few detours because the are working on the trail. The section when I left Fairport was totally beautiful. It reminded me of the North Tonawanda/Tonawanda section of the trail. A lot of houses and docks lining the trail with lots of people enjoying hiking and biking the trail. It was a peaceful, but not secluded feeling. The motel I stayed at did not have breakfast and there was no place really close by so I ate a Kind bar and started out. At one point about 3 miles out, I had to detour because of the trail construction and went through a really cute village in Fairport. I went to the Dollar Tree and loaded up on a few supplies and asked around to find out where I could get a good breakfast. The one woman I spoke to told me Ricki's. It was really good, fast and inexpensive I had an omelet with bacon, peppers, mushrooms and onions. It had gotten close to 80 degrees out and there wasn't a lot of shade. It was hot, but oh such a beautiful day to walk. The canal trail brought me right through Pittsford and by then I wanted ice cream. There was a place right off of the canal that sold gelato, so I had a mango and pineapple gelato and a bottle of water, found a shady bench by the water and sat, watched the people birds and ducks and cooled off and relaxed a bit. Sometime before I had entered Fairport the trail had gotten difficult. It was all stone. Not the crushed limestone and dirt, but more of the big stones the size of marbles and golf balls. Now that I have the jogging stroller, I really don't mind the gravel/dirt paths, but the on the ones with the larger stones I tend to keep twisting my ankles, so I was sore and hurting by the time I got to my room. Even though, it was a really enjoyable day. The weather was amazing. There were lots of friendly people on the trail and I walked through some beautiful towns. I really think I want to come back to Pittsford sometime and spend a few days. It was loaded with cute little shops along the canal.

Got some catching up to do

Ok, it's been a few days since I wrote. Between not having Wi-Fi and hanging with my cousin and just being plane old tired. My next stop since I wrote last was supposed to by Clyde, but there was no lodging in Clyde so I went a little more to the south and stopped at Seneca Falls. That is where my cousin and uncle live (well in Waterloo, but they're right next to each other) I had a great time once again being with both my uncle and my cousin Donna. Me and Donna spent the day together Monday. We went to Seneca Falls, the birthplace of women's rights. All the women's rights museums were closed Mondays and Tuesdays, so I guess women have no rights in Seneca Falls on Mondays and Tuesdays. Since we couldn't check any of that out, we stopped and got a bite to eat. I will have to get the name of the place from Donna, I just can't think of it now. I think either Paul's or Paula's pub. We had some jalapeno poppers, Donna had a burrito and I had a pastrami sandwich. The jalapeno poppers were real good and came with tortia chips. The pastrami was so good! Very lean and lots of it. I only ate half of it and gave the rest to my uncle. Since everything was closed, we exercised a women's right to shop and went to the Waterloo Outlet mall. We had a good time and spent too much. LOL Not really, I bought a few things I needed. I don't buy much anymore because I have to carry whatever I buy with me till I get home. I got a few tank tops now that the weather is getting nicer and a pair of sneakers since I blew through the first pair already.

I left Waterloo and walked to Palmyra which was around 23 miles. It was a long walk since I had to get back up more north and get as far west as I had hoped for the day. I got to the hotel at around 8pm. I then did some laundry and ate a healthy dinner from the gift shop in the hotel of microwave French bread pizza and an icecream sandwich. I was just way too tired to get out my computer and blog. I guess Palmyra is a big place for the Mormons. I don't really know except for seeing signs along the way, since I got there at 8pm and left early morning. I did feel led to pray as I was leaving. I prayed that my footsteps would reclaim the ground for Jesus. Palmyra is a great place to walk and bike though. As soon as I can download pictures I will. I got some great ones from the trail. It was really beautiful. The first bridge made from iron instead of wood is there and and aqueduct. I got pictures of both. This was a pretty short walk for me only 11 miles, so I had plenty of time to just take it all in and enjoy.

I got to my motel and there was a man checking in in front of me. He happens to be only two rooms down and he invited me to go to dinner with him. We're gonna go at 7. That gives me time to settle down, stretch my poor body and write to you all.

I am finally at a point where I am at peace with my walk. I have been battling with God on this for a while. Did He really want me to do this and why was it so hard. Why wasn't I enjoying myself. I had some personal problems thrown into the mix and it made it just so hard to concentrate on walking. I have found my peace though. I am enjoying myself, most of the time. I am feeling like my old happy/hopeful self again. I have let go of my problems and there is now such a feeling of easy. Not that the walking part itself is easy. Towards the end of walking 23 miles yesterday, I felt like I was sleepwalking, which wasn't a good thing since I was walking roads the whole time. I had gotten about 19 miles in and was dead tired, only to see another one of those steep vertical hills in front of me. I got up the hill and I got to my hotel. I am finding out just how far I can push myself. When I started this walk after about 10 miles I would be dead and think I can't possibly go any further, but I would be able to somehow push and do those extra 10 or more miles. Now I can go about 15 miles before feeling that "I can't possibly take one more step feeling". The best part is I have been able to push myself no matter how tired and get to where I need to be!

Of cities and countries and rain and sun

I left Syracuse yesterday to go to Camillus and today walked from Camillus to Weedsport. My walk from Syracuse to Camillus was almost all city walking. I walked through some not so great sections of Syracuse, and was a little fearful. Psalm 23 was on my mind, especially verse 4 "Yea, though I walk through the valley or the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me." I was led to pray for the city as I walked. As I left Camillus today though it was almost all rural. It was very quiet and peaceful a definite contrast from yesterday. As I was walking through a wooded area and looking at the fallen trees and the other trees that were just starting to turn green and was in awe at God's amazing plan. The trees live their whole life and then fall, start to decompose and then provide nutrition to the soil for the next generation of trees. The whole circle of life. It is so cool.

Yesterday, it rained off and on all day. I kept putting on my rain poncho and taking it off again. At one point it really started to pour down. Luckily I was still in the city and there was a Subway restaurant right there. I guess that meant that it was time for a lunch break. LOL I had gotten about 5 miles from Camillus and it started coming down pretty hard again. There was a Catholic Church across the street and I could see that there was a bench under an eaves there. So I sought sanctuary at the church for a while. I sat for 5 or 10 minutes and it did stop raining. I got about 3 miles from my motel and MapQuest had me going in circles for a while. I think I was 3 miles out for about an hour as I walked in circles. I figured out my problem. MapQuest was having a problem keeping up with me and was giving me directions from where it thought I was, thus having me going in circles. I stayed at the Thomas Motel on W. Genesee Turnpike in Camillus. I would totally recommend this motel. It is a small no frills motel, that charges a really fair rate and is decorated so adorably and is very clean.

As I left the motel today, there were dark clouds all around me. I was tempted to go back and spend an extra date at that adorable motel. I decided instead to keep going. I had let the weather interfere with my walk way too much. I totally felt that God was with me on my walk today. I kept seeing dark clouds all around me, but over my head was always a circle of blue sky and I even got to see sun too. I did not see any rain at all while I walked today. The terrain was really interesting today. I had done a lot of uphill before, but there didn't seem to be a lot of downhill. Today, there were lots of steep climbs, but they were followed by steep declines too. I got my whole body worked out today. Up until now, it had been mostly my glutes and my push muscles in my arms and back. Today I also got the front of my thighs and my pull muscles, trying to keep my cart and myself under control while going down the hills and having the cart pulling me. Tomorrow I hope to reach Clyde.

Once again, thank you everyone for all of your support. Everyone's support had meant so much to me. Still, I could use prayers for funding and for a driver to drive along with me.

Syracuse finally

I finally made it to Syracuse. It looks like this is halfway on the Erie Canalway Trail. I am hoping to get to Rochester in a week (let's see how long that actually takes me) and another week till Buffalo. The weather has been horrible. I didn't walk today, it was pouring rain all day. I don't mind when there is a light rain or on and off showers, but pouring rain and barely 50 degrees out just doesn't mix. The Syracuse news showed some interest in doing my story, but Noelle has been contacting them to let them know I am here and that I will stay a few days if they need me to and we're not hearing anything back.

The walk to Syracuse was interesting. I found the trail right away, no walking 5 miles out of my way this time. Which was a good thing since it was over 20 miles to get to the hotel here in Syracuse. The beginning of the trail was a little scary. It was really desolate, but also very peaceful. I pulled my bear spray out of it's holster and kept it close at hand, just in case. The trail went from gravel and dirt to just stone with grass in the middle to some places where there was just a very narrow path of stone in the middle, basically just wide enough for a bike. I am so, so, so glad I got the jogging stroller. It handled all of it easily. I wasn't wasting a lot of energy pushing something that didn't want to move. It really glided above almost every surface. all in all, it was a nice but long walk. I was exhausted when I got to my room around 8pm. I went into my room and found out that I had a Jacuzzi tub! I did not request it, or pay extra for it. God is so good. It is time for new sneakers. They are really breaking down and I twisted my ankle a few times on the rough surface of the trail, so I was achy and had little energy. Sitting in the Jacuzzi was exactly what I needed.

I stayed today in Syracuse, hoping to hear something from the news, and the weather was bad. I got a cab and went to the Destiny USA mall. It was really huge. I got an air pump for the tires of my stroller and a couple of tank tops. I had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. I have actually never eaten there before. I had a grilled shrimp and bacon club. What an amazing combination. For dessert I had carrot cake cheesecake. My two favorite desserts in one!! The best part was that the carrot cake in there was really good carrot cake, not just the boring spice cake tasting kind, but this had pieces of carrot and nuts. The whole thing was really good. I came back to my hotel and tried to do laundry. First the machine ate my money and wouldn't give me any laundry soap. I used shampoo. Maybe now my clothes will be shiny with lots of body. They have lots of body while I am in them LOL. Then I put money in the washer and the thing that you push the coins in got stuck. The maintenance guy was nearby and he monkeyed with it and got it to work. Then the same thing happened with the drier. The maintenance man could not get that to work, so they let me use there drier. Well I will go for now and fold my clothes and enjoy the Jacuzzi again while I can. My next stop will be Camillus. It is about a 15 mile walk.

Feeling at peace

I am in Canastota today. I got here yesterday and spent an extra night. My soul feels at total peace here. I have been having a hard time, battling my mind and the weather and some general personal problems. I got here to Canastota and as I turned into the village at the top of a big hill I saw the most amazing view. The houses were at the top of this hill which looked down into the valley and the hills past that. Can you imagine how beautiful that sight must be in the fall when all the leaves are changing. Actually it must be an amazing view no matter what the season. Getting to see as the valley and trees just start turning green and awakening and blossoming in the spring. Or to look out in the summer when everything is filled in and lush and alive. I am not a big fan of winter, but it would be an awesome sight from there seeing everything blanketed in white and sparkling from the sun. I wanted to go up and knock on everyone's doors and ask them if they realized what an amazing view they had and how lucky they were! I had a short walk to get here, so I just took my time. I strolled along looking at the view, purposely going down a dead end street just so I could get a better view. I just drank it all in and could feel it just draining all tension away from me.

I spent the afternoon wandering the town. I found a family dollar and stocked up on some necessities. I got some snacks, some powerade, an umbrella (I left my in my car when I came back home last time)and some other things. It's really chilly out, so I came home for a while to drop off my bags of stuff and bundle up some more.

As for my gastronomic adventure...I am at "The world famous Graziano Inn and Restaurant". I stopped at Graziano's restaurant yesterday and had a homemade Italian sausage sandwich with peppers and onions on garlic bread. The sausage was great, but having on the garlic bread just made it even better.

I am on to Syracuse tomorrow. I feel like I have said I would be in Syracuse a dozen times, but I think that tomorrow will finally be the day!

Thank you once again for all of your support and prayers. I can feel the difference in my spirit, the darkness that was surrounding me on the road is lifting. I seem to have found my joy again. Thank you, your prayers have made all of the difference.

Interesting day

Well, I started my day the same way I did yesterday. I got lost trying to find the Erie Canalway trail and walked about 5 miles out of my way. That is probably one of the biggest challenges, finding my way back to the trail. To get off the trail and find the hotel, MapQuest has usually been helpful, but not in getting back to the trail. The way I went though, took me through Rome and it is a really beautiful town. I promise, I will get pictures posted sometime. I have figured out how to do it, but when I do the computer freezes. I think it just may be that whenever I have tried it I have been somewhere that didn't have the greatest WI-FI.


I stopped at Joels Frontyard Steakhouse in Verona at routes 365 & 31. I had a bull ship sandwich. (had to make sure spell check didn't change that name to one I didn't want, LOL) It was 3 different kind of steak tips on a grilled hogy roll, with this wonderful gravy over it. The steak tips just melted in your mouth and the hogy roll was wonderfully grilled with the grill marks on it. The gravy soaking into the roll just made the whole thing. It was definitely a fork and knife sandwich. There was no way to pick it up, it was just overflowing with steak. If you have been reading my food blogs, you know why I look the way I do. I love good food!


When I left Joels, it had gotten colder and cloudy and just felt like rain was in the air. I had five miles left to go, so I cheated and called a cab. I figure it evened out since I walked about five miles out of my way in the morning. Oneida cab company came and picked me up, really fast service. I was telling the driver about what I was doing and she decided to not charge me for my fare. How wonderful was that! If you are in the area and need a cab, please support them. You won't be disappointed with their service.


Tomorrow will be a short one, if I don't get lost again. I am heading for Canatota. It will be about 10 miles. It is supposed to rain off and on, so hopefully I can miss the raindrops. I got some exciting news from Noelle, the news in Syracuse wants to interview me. I haven't heard from them yet, but I will give you more details as soon as I know. I should be in Syracuse by Sunday, Monday at the latest. If I have to stay for a few days to get the interview done, well that will be fine.

Misdirection

Today started out really great. I tried to leave Utica and walked 5 miles only to end up right where I originally started. It was such a stupid move, I really did know where I was going and it should have been an easy start, I have no idea what I was thinking. I had hoped to get to Verona, but because of my miss steps I am now in Rome.


The trail from Utica was wonderful. A lot of wet lands, very beautiful and scenic. It did turn to dirt and crushed stone and I couldn't be happier with my new jogging stroller. It just glided over the surface. My poor aching wrists are finally getting a break. I had another small misdirection on the path in Utica. It comes to a V and I wasn't sure where to go. My map didn't show any turns, so I figured to go straight. I only walked a few feet when I decided it was wrong and got back on the path where I should be. Not too long after I passed lock 20 the path became very rough, just trampled down grass and there ended up being a tree that fell across the path and blocked it, so I headed for the roads. I had almost gotten to Rome when I saw a little bar/diner called Casey's on Country road 88. It was a really nice little neighborhood spot. I talked to some of the people about what I was doing, left some bracelets so they could follow my blog and had one really nice guy donate. It was a really nice place and I was just grateful for a diet Pepsi, a place to rest my feet for a few and a bathroom.


I left there and headed for my hotel since I didn't want to be on the road once it got dark. Once again I got lost. It wasn't too bad, I just went up and down this one road 3 times. Unfortunately it happened to be one with a huge hill. By the time I did get to the hotel, it was dark. Fortunately I wasn't walking around in the dark for more than 15 minutes or so. Luckily the weather was pretty good the whole time. It was windy, but the sun was shining the whole time (except of course when I was walking after dark, lol) I hope to get to Verona tomorrow. It shouldn't be a problem, it is a short trip. I will probably take a break Saturday as right now it looks like rain and then head for Syracuse Sunday.

rainy days and good food

Monday it was raining but not too hard so I left Herkimer for Utica. It was slow going because I stopped several times because of the rain and once to sit and figure my route. The bike route follows route 5S so in the spots where there is no walking path I follow the bike route. It is usually good, real nice shoulders and an easy walk. There was no walking path the whole way from Herkimer to Utica so I headed for route 5S and there was a sign saying no Pedestrian traffic, so I headed for Denny's which was real close and went on MapQuest to figure out a good route. I found something that took all side streets. It was raining lightly and sometimes started coming down hard. At one point it started pouring like crazy. I was where there was nothing else in sight and just a few miles from the hotel. I saw a garage for an excavation company and asked if I could duck in there. I called a cab to take me to the hotel and the owner of the company tells me, "we are closed for the day now" so I had to go wait outside in the rain for the cab to come. Talk about chivalry. So I stood out there and waited, cold, wet and miserable.


Today I stayed here in Utica for the day. It was rainy and a lot colder than yesterday so I decided to not walk after being wet and cold on Monday. I went to Burlington Coat factory and got a new stroller to hold my stuff. I was about to lose the wheel for the old one and I had e-mailed the manufacturer and replacement wheels were out of stock. It was tilted so bad that it was rubbing against the brakes and making it even harder to push. I found a jogging stroller for a really great price. It has all terrain wheels and is soooo easy to push. I love it. So on to stroller number two!


I really need someone to drive along with me. I would not have been stuck in the pouring rain and I wouldn't be going through strollers like crazy.


I went to dinner both Monday night and tonight. Monday I went to Delmonico's and had ravioli with 1/2 vodka, 1/2 marinara sauce with a Caesar salad. It was really good.


Today though, I think I am in love...with a restaurant...I went to Aqua Vino, I had drunken clams (steamed clams with a beer and wine sauce) shrimp and lobster bisque (it came with a crab cake) and Caesar salad with grilled shrimp.  Everything was just amazing. I was worried I was going to recreate the seen from "When Harry Met Sally". If you end up in Utica, I would definitely check Aqua Vino out!! Well worth it! My waiter, Patrick was wonderful too. I had gotten there early since I hadn't eaten lunch, so for a while I was his only customer and we really had a chance to talk. He is also a teacher. He also had a lot of great information about the Erie Canal trail.